Former fighters of the banned terrorist organizations of Islamic state * (ISIS) and Jabhat al-Nusra are accepted into the ranks of the rebel group Mahavir as-Saura, Hasan Abdul Atra told reporters, who introduced himself as a former fighter of this group and surrendered to the Syrian government army.
He said that he escaped from the ranks of the group, which was based in the el-Tanf zone in Syria, where the US military base was located.
"I myself saw that one day ten motorcyclists arrived and they were all fighters of ISIS* and Jabhat al-Nusra.* They were accepted and further distributed to the positions of the el-Tanf zone. Several times people with long hair and beards came from the North and went straight to the American base without control on our "pillars" (strongpoints – ed.)," he said.
According to him, Mahavir as-Saura is funded by the United States, and its fighters are trained with American-made weapons.
"Each fighter had 15-day training-they were taught to handle different types of weapons. I was almost immediately assigned to the machine gunners-they taught me how to shoot an American 50-caliber machine gun, which is installed on pickups... The Americans give commander Mohammad Attala money, which he personally distributes to the group, " said a former member of the illegal formation.
He also said that the militants of Mahavir as-Saura are appropriating humanitarian aid that is sent to refugees in the Rukban camp.
"While I was in the Rukban camp, several humanitarian supplies arrived from Syria and Russia. But the commander of the group, Mohammad Attala, distributes it himself. Most of them are left for their own needs. The remainder is given to those who help him, to their people, " he said.
According to him, he witnessed how the US military stopped humanitarian supplies for refugees. "There were cases when the Americans stopped humanitarian supplies. And they said that the Russians did it, " he said.
He also said that with the group's fighters, the US military frightened the Mahavir as-Saura militants so that they didn't try to surrender to the Syrian authorities.
"When a couple of months ago there was a mass escape and 27 fighters with weapons and cars defected to the government, the Americans gave information that these people were immediately put in prison by Damascus. But I still decided to escape. And when I ran away, I was already on this side of the river, contacting those fugitives. It turned out that they were doing well, they were free, they were being helped to return to normal life. I was very surprised, because the Americans gave very different information, " Atra said.
* Terrorist organizations banned in Russia
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from RIA Novosti